A STUDY ON SCORES OF PROOF AND DEMONSTRATIVE QUESTIONS – THE CASE OF MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN A JOINT DEGREE PROGRAM BETWEEN JAPAN AND MALAYSIA

In a joint degree program between Japan and Malaysia, Malaysian university students were not necessarilygood at proof and demonstrative questions in the subjects of fundamental mathematical sciences compared with Japanese university students because they had seldom solved such questions. According to the result of tests, it was suggested that the amount of Japanese to write did not affect the scores of the questions and that sorting parts of sentences of proofs appropriately was more useful for improving their scores than writing all sentences of proofs. Lastly, it was proposed that Malaysian students should solve those kinds of questions from secondary education.&nbsp

On the use of Ajisai and Jason-1 satellites for tests of General Relativity

Here we analyze in detail some aspects of the proposed use of Ajisai and Jason-1, together with the LAGEOS satellites, to measure the general relativistic Lense-Thirring effect in the gravitational field of the Earth. A linear combination of the nodes of such satellites is the proposed observable. The systematic error due to the mismodelling in the uncancelled even zonal harmonics would be \sim 1% according to the latest present-day CHAMP/GRACE-based Earth gravity models. In regard to the non-gravitational perturbations especially affecting Jason-1, only relatively high-frequency harmonic perturbations should occur: neither semisecular nor secular bias of non-gravitational origin should affect the proposed combination: their maximum impact is evaluated to \sim 4% over 2 years. Our estimation of the root-sum-square total error is about 4-5% over at least 3 years of data analysis required to average out the uncancelled tidal perturbations.Comment: Latex, 24 pages, 5 tables, 1 figure. Two references added, minor modifications. To appear in New Astronom

Co-evolutionary and systemic study on the evolution of emerging stem cell-based therapies

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Newly emerging therapeutic technologies have the potential to reconfigure the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, and, consequently, to impact human health. This study integrates co-evolutionary and system-oriented perspectives to investigate factors influencing the way emerging therapies evolve in their attempt to become established medical practices. We examined the case of the use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cellbased therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) disease. Cell therapy evolution is explored by considering their constitutive components, namely disease, biomedical technologies, and clinical practices, and observing the changes experienced by their underlying knowledge structures. We adopted a mixed methods approach that simultaneously uses publication, patent, and clinical trial data. Our results highlight the significance of the diversity of technological possibilities, the role of subjective issues in the selection of directions of search, the complementary nature between established and emerging therapies, and the tight product-process interdependencies. This study contributes to an understanding of the difficulties encountered during the emergence of new cell therapies, and the ways in which such difficulties can be circumvented to establish effective and safe cell-based clinical practices.This work was financially supported by MEXT/JSPS World Premier International Research Center (WPI) Initiative [AAR] and by MEXT/JSPS Kakenhi Grant No. 26301022 [SS] and MEXT/JSPS Kakenhi Grant No. 16K17165 [AAR]. Funding is also provided by Organisation in Transition Research Cluster, University of Exeter Business School, University of Exeter, UK (No. 1-SC-C-N68-242-USC01-SSC31-A355-PZSC177)

Control of the Polymorphism of Calcium Carbonate Produced by Self-Healing in the Cracked Part of Cementitious Materials

Cracking is an inherent development in reinforced concrete structures and can lead to serious damages during their service period. The repeated occurrence of such damages can enlarge the cracks, thereby allowing other deteriorating elements such as CO2 and Cl− to further infiltrate the concrete, which can seriously compromise the concrete structure. This study focuses on the type of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals generated by the self-healing phenomenon. Owing to polymorphism, CaCO3 has three types of crystal forms—calcite, vaterite, and aragonite—whose formation can be controlled by the temperature and pH. Vaterite has the highest density among these crystals, and it is expected to be capable of self-healing. Therefore, experiments were conducted to establish the conditions required to promote the generation of vaterite. A saturated Ca(OH)2 solution with CO2 nanobubbles (CN) was employed for effective self-healing. The temperature was controlled at 20, 40, and 60 °C, and the pH was controlled at 9.0, 10.5, and 12.0. The results showed that the self-healing of cracks occurred both on the surface and internally, and the main product of the self-healing phenomenon was vaterite in CaCO3 crystals at a pH of 9.0 and a temperature of 40 °C. Furthermore, the addition of a saturated Ca(OH)2 solution with CO2 nanobubbles (CN) resulted in the most effective self-healing of the surface and internal cracks

ACTIVATION PATTERN OF TRUNK, THIGH AND LOWER LEG MUCLES DURING UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICK IN SKILLED FEMALE SWIMMERS

This study investigated the muscle activation pattern between the agonist and the antagonist muscles in the trunk, thigh and lower leg during underwater dolphin kick. Thirteen female elite swimmers participated in this study and they performed 15 m underwater dolphin kick swimming at maximum effort. The surface electromyography (sEMG) of six muscles were measured and the muscle activation pattern between the agonist and antagonist muscles in the trunk, thigh and lower leg were estimated from the sEMG data. As results, the trunk and the thigh muscles showed a reciprocal activation pattern during one-kick cycle. However, the activation pattern of the lower leg muscles did not show a reciprocal pattern and it was clarified that the lower leg muscles were co-activated during the upward kick phase

Strength recovery of concrete exposed to freezing-thawing by self-healing of cementitious materials using synthetic fiber

In this study, it is possible to disperse effectively cracked using synthetic fiber, an examination of the most suitable self-healing conditions was performed on the above crack width 0.1mm. As a result, effective crack dispersion using polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) fibers with polar OH-groups, as well as improved self-healing for cracks that are larger than 0.1 mm in width, posing concerns of CO2 gas and Cl-penetration, were observed. Also, CO3 2-reacts with Ca2+ in the concrete crack, resulting in the precipitation of a carbonate compound, CaCO3. Based on this, it is deemed possible for the recovery of effective water tightness and strength recovery through effective freezing-thawing resistance to be made from cracks that are larger than 0.1mm in width. In addition, it was determined that, as for the most suitable self-healing conditions in the inside and surface of the cracks, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) solution with CO2 micro-bubble was more effective in promoting the self-healing capability than water with CO2 micro-bubble. Copyright © 2017 VBRI Press

Validation of the Monitoring Efficacy of Neurogenic Bowel Treatment on Response (MENTOR) Tool in a Japanese Rehabilitation Setting

Study design: Prospective observational study. Objective: To validate the Monitoring Efficacy of NBD Treatment On Response (MENTOR) tool in individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) or spina bifida, suffering from neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) in a rehabilitation center in Japan. Methods: First, the MENTOR tool was translated from English to Japanese using a validated translation process. Second, the MENTOR tool was validated in a rehabilitation clinic in Japan. Participants completed the MENTOR tool prior to a consultation with an expert physician. According to the results of the tool, each participant was allocated to one of three categories regarding change in treatment: “adequately treated,” “further discussion,” and “recommended change.” The results of the MENTOR tool were compared with the treatment decision made by an expert physician, who was blinded to the results of the MENTOR tool. Results: A total of 60 participants completed the MENTOR tool. There was an acceptable concordance between individuals allocated as respectively, being adequately treated (100%) and recommended change in treatment (61%) and the physicians’ decision on treatment. The concordance was lower for individuals allocated as requiring further discussion (48%). Conclusions: In this study the MENTOR tool was successfully validated in a Japanese rehab setting. The tool will help identify individuals with SCI that need further treatment of their NBD symptoms